Inspired by the experience of running the New York Marathon two years earlier, former Olympic champion and journalist Chris Brasher teamed up with athlete John Disley to explore the possibility of staging a similar race in London.

More than 20,000 people applied to run in the first event, with 6,747 accepted. Of those, 6,255 crossed the finish line on Constitution Hill.

It ended in the only tie in the history of the event, with American Dick Beardsley and Inge Simonsen of Norway crossing the line holding hands in a time of two hours, 11 minutes and 48 seconds.

The race has been held every year since and has grown into one of the biggest annual sporting events in the country, with nearly 750,000 people having completed the course.

This year’s race, which was due to take place on April 26, has been postponed until October 4 because of the coronavirus outbreak.